Reza Ghasempour, deputy director of the Natural Environment Department of Alborz Province’s Environmental Organization, announced on Wednesday, January 15, that Salehiyeh Wetland has dried up. He stated that a 40-kilometer drainage system and the failure to supply its water rights have turned the area into a source of dust storms.
According to the state-run Tasnim news agency, Reza Ghasempour added that Salehiyeh Wetland plays a crucial role in controlling floods in Nazarabad County and is located in the lowest-lying areas of the province.
He further stated, “The drainage system created by the Qazvin Province Agricultural Jihad Organization to channel water to upstream farmlands has caused the wetland to dry up.”
Meanwhile, the state-run ILNA news agency reported a “critical water crisis” in Khorasan Province, where only 14% of the province’s dam capacity is filled, leaving 86% empty.
This situation has arisen due to a 25% decrease in rainfall compared to the long-term average, climate change, and increased water consumption.
According to the report, Kazem Jam, the public relations director of Khorasan Water and Wastewater Company, stated that since the beginning of the current water year in October 2024, the province has received only 33 millimeters of rainfall, while the long-term average is 44 millimeters.
Additionally, Ali-Asghar Dehghanpour, the director-general of Khorasan Meteorological Organization, highlighted the impact of global warming and climate change on reduced rainfall and rising temperatures. He emphasized the need to reduce fossil fuel use and expand renewable energy sources.
He added, “Although future rainfall can improve groundwater reserves and dam levels, drought caused by climate change requires serious action and a global commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
In another report from the state-run Etemad newspaper, Gholamreza Sabzghabaei, a lecturer at Khatam al-Anbia University, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated that Iran’s average temperature has risen by 1.5 degrees Celsius since 1950, while average rainfall has decreased by approximately 45 millimeters.
He noted that these changes have led to a decline in groundwater levels, land subsidence, and reduced snowfall in mountainous areas.
The university lecturer added that this situation has made Iran’s arid regions even drier and has reduced access to water resources. As a result of this crisis, there has been a migration of populations from the southern and central regions to the northern belt of the country, leading to increased deforestation in northern forests due to construction activities.
Additionally, in a press conference on January 13, Sedigheh Torabi, deputy head of the Environmental Protection Organization’s Human Environment Department, announced that 59% of Tehran’s air pollution originates from moving vehicles, while the remaining 41% comes from stationary sources.
Ahmad Taheri, head of the National Air and Climate Change Center at the Environmental Protection Organization, also stated that there are approximately 24 million polluting vehicles in the country, including cars and motorcycles. He warned that these pollution sources will lead to a significant increase in pollutants and negative environmental effects in the coming years.
Environmental activists and experts, emphasizing the Iranian regime’s neglect of climate change and its inability to manage natural resources, state that the critical conditions of water scarcity, energy shortages, and climate change highlight the urgent need for both immediate and long-term planning for water resource management, conservation, and the development of new technologies to combat drought.
